Goodbye 2025
2025.
What a year.
The good, the hard, everything in between.
It was the year we lost our Nani.
Also the year Ishu learned how to ride a bike and learned how to swim.
It was the year we realized Riyaan was a whole personality and he wasn’t going to sit in the sidelines waiting for his turn to get some attention. If he wants gummy bears now, he will find a way to get gummy bears right now, DAMMIT.
When we first moved to Chicago back in 2021, I was lonely. We were coming off COVID, moving to a brand-new city, and I was starting my first fully remote job. I had a toddler who wasn’t quite ready for daycare, and we weren’t plugged into any built-in communities.
And while it was special to explore this beautiful city with my little sidekick, I still felt alone. I met the occasional mom at the park. Familiar faces. Friendly hellos. But I didn’t yet have people to lean on in the way I wanted or needed.
As we step into 2026 – the year we’ll be moving back to California – I look back at our time here and feel genuinely blown away by how much Chicago has become home.
From book clubs to moms’ nights out to our Sunday pickleball tradition, we built community one brick at a time. And I’ve felt so deeply thankful – again and again – that we found the connection I was once missing so badly.
We’ve made lifelong friends, lifelong memories, and turned this beautiful city into a home that will always feel like ours.
This past year reminded me that even in the middle of change and loss, we were deeply held by the people we love.
I still want some time to reflect on what I want more of in 2026, what I’m okay with letting go of, and what goals/resolutions I have, if any.
My new year actually starts more in February when the craziness of the holiday season is over and I can actually sit down and think about what I want this year to look like. 🙂
Goodbye 2025.
Grateful for another year, for my beautiful chaotic family, for so very much. <3
